EUROPE-MIGRANTS/GERMANY-FRANCE Germany and France discuss joint migration policies

Record ID: 143174

  • Title: EUROPE-MIGRANTS/GERMANY-FRANCE Germany and France discuss joint migration policies
  • Date: 20th August 2015
  • Summary: BERLIN, GERMANY (AUGUST 20, 2015) (REUTERS) GERMAN INTERIOR MINISTER THOMAS DE MAIZIERE AND FRENCH INTERIOR MINISTER BERNARD CAZENEUVE ENTERING NEWS CONFERENCE PHOTOGRAPHER (SOUNDBITE) (German) GERMAN INTERIOR MINISTER, THOMAS DE MAIZIERE, SAYING: "Whether it is in the Mediterranean, or in Greece, the dramas are being played out, the Balkan countries are very hard hit by a
  • Embargoed: 4th September 2015 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Germany
  • Country: Germany
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVA3XWBTXCF2ZE9GD6DOYP1N75P0
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande will use a meeting in Berlin on Monday to discuss how the European Union can speed relief for the worsening refugee crisis amid criticism building in Germany the EU it is not doing enough, their interior ministers announced on Thursday (August 20th) in Berlin.
    German Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere and his French counterpart Bernard Cazeneuve told reporters after a meeting they had that the EU must move faster and with more coordination as migrant numbers across the EU have surged in recent months.
    "Whether it is in the Mediterranean, or in Greece, the dramas are being played out, the Balkan countries are very hard hit by all those who are trying to get to central Europe through those countries. In turning around what we have decided upon, too little has happened so far," said de Maiziere, one day after he said Germany will receive a record 800,000 refugees and asylum-seekers this year.
    "We want it to be made clear at a European level what the European Union considers safe countries of origin. Countries which belong to this group are particularly those trying to join the European Union," he added.
    Asked about whether the Schengen treaty should be changed or even cancelled, De Maiziere and Caseneuve denied such suggestion but agreed that the EU Commission needed to apply far more pressure on countries outside the EU, especially those seeking to join the EU in the Balkans, to take back refugees failing to qualify for asylum.
    "We are not questioning Schengen, but we are working on keeping Schengen. And one of the prerequisite is that a lot of things have to change in Europe," De Maizieres said.
    "Schengen will only go on as long as rules and principles on which it is based are kept. That is the position that we both defend. Free movement is good for Europe, but for that to happen, we must all respect the rules, all those countries who can benefit from the Schengen treaty. That means that all immigrants have to be registered when they arrive, fingerprints must be taken, they have to follow the procedure for readmission as defined by the principles of Dublin. The rules are not the problem, the problem comes when those rules are not applied," Cazeneuve agreed.
    Merkel, who called it "extremely unsatisfying" that Germany is taking in a disproportionate numbers, said earlier this week that the EU urgently needs to come up with joint policies in the face of the worsening humanitarian crisis. She said the issue would become more pressing for Europe than the eurozone crisis.
    Britain said on Thursday it will contribute 10 million euros to increased French humanitarian assistance and a fast-track asylum process for thousands of migrants camped in Calais in the hope of crossing the Channel.
    The measures were announced by British Home Secretary Theresa May and Bernard Cazeneuve during a joint visit to the northern French port city of Calais.
    Asked about those new measures, Cazeneuve said:
    "We also agree as a part of the strategy, that we have to coordinate police forces and information agencies to fight the increase of illegal immigration. We have signed an agreement with the British government this morning in Calais, we have an excellent relationship to jointly fight human trading with Germany and it is absolutely necessary to increase cooperation at a European level, because it is about dismantling networks of exploitation and mistreatment that are purely criminal network."
    In Istanbul, the head of Turkey's relief efforts Fuat Oktay told Reuters that Europe does not grasp the magnitude of Syria's refugee crisis and should open its borders to shoulder a responsibility Turkey has been bearing alone.
    Tens of thousands of migrants are arriving in Italy and Greece each week.
    Germany has become a magnet for refugees fleeing war, violence and poverty in Asia, Africa and the Middle East as 218,221 people arrived seeking asylum in the first six months. That led Germany to raise its full-year forecast to 800,000 from the original January forecast of 300,000 and May's 450,000.
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